Page 13 of Hooked on Lane (Hooked #1)
Chapter Thirteen
Lane
F riendsgiving was tonight and honestly I was nervous.
Jennifer and I had been strictly professional since that night at the bar and it felt like there was a wall between us—a wall that made sense for both of our careers.
Even so, her lavender perfume lingered in my mind, and as each moment passed, I wished I'd met her before I started working at the firm.
I ventured into the grocery store and grabbed a freshly baked pumpkin pie. Red or white wine? They seemed to like red, so I threw one in my shopping basket. My mother taught me never to show up to a gathering empty-handed. A little liquid courage wouldn't hurt either.
I hugged my long wool coat tight around me as I trudged through the freshly fallen snow to Jennifer's apartment building and I paused outside.
It was a nondescript building on the Upper East Side.
Taking a deep breath to steady my nerves, I opened the front door and headed into the elevator.
After finding her apartment, Jennifer opened it with a smile, her face framed by her brown locks and bright-blue eyes.
She was dressed in a sweater dress, her long legs finished with edgy black thigh-high boots with a small heel.
Her eyebrows rose slightly in surprise at seeing me, her gaze flickering between the pumpkin pie and the bottle of wine before settling back into an understanding smile as she welcomed me in.
“You didn't have to bring anything.”
I shrugged, my hands growing clammy as I looked down at pie and wine tucked into my arm. “My mom taught me better than that.”
Jennifer stepped aside and opened the door wider. “Come in.”
The apartment was small and cozy. The savory smell of something cooking in the kitchen was an immediate comfort.
“I’m glad you could make it. There will be plenty of food. Laura is going a bit overboard. She's in the kitchen. We are still cooking, but you can put those on the counter.”
I stepped into the kitchen and was surprised by how tidy it was.
Especially when making a thanksgiving meal.
Jennifer and I huddled around the sink, potatoes falling into the strainer from the boiling water.
We sprinkled in heaps of butter and sour cream, topped with diced onion and bell pepper for a little color.
We whisked it all together. And then it was on to the next dish.
She worked quickly to mix the stuffing—tearing up bits of stray onion and celery stalks by hand.
Laura told us about the time she and her family spent Thanksgiving with her grandmother in Mexico, while Jennifer recounted her favorite childhood Thanksgiving memory.
By the time the dinner was ready, I had almost forgotten how much I dreaded the evening.
We put the finishing touches on dinner and the three of us stood back to admire our work.
We finally took our seats at the dinner table and soon plates were piled high with the most delicious dishes I had ever tasted. They shared stories about all the places they had visited.
“Have you ever played Cards Against Humanity before?” Laura asked.
I shook my head. “Can't say I have.”
She grabbed it off a shelf and plopped it onto the table, almost spilling my glass of wine. Laura explained the rules of the game while she was shuffling the white cards and gave us each ten. They did not know how badly I sucked at card games.
“So, whoever's turn it is to read the black card, the other two pick one of their white cards that fits the best.”
After picking up my white cards, I almost doubled over laughing. These were dumb.
Laura read the black card. “Having problems with blank, try blank. So for this one, you choose two white cards.”
I sorted through my cards and put my two down. Jennifer looked like she was struggling. “Oh, come on, it can't be any worse than mine.”
She laughed and put down two cards.
Laura picked up our two sets. “Having problems with your pet, try peanut butter.” She looked straight at Jennifer. “Having problems with the hiccups, try shutting up.”
Wasn't this supposed to be funny? Maybe we should play a different game, but I was just a guest. So, instead, I kept sipping my wine and playing along. The longer we played, the funnier things got.
Jennifer read the black card: The year is 2150. The president is____ . I looked at my cards and put one down. These are ridiculous. She read out loud the cards we played.
The president is eating cat food and binging Law and Order SVU .
The president is returning all its money to the rightful owner, Bezos.
Literally neither of them made sense, but whatever.
I guess that was the point of the game. For the next two hours, we played this game, and by the end, they crowned me the winner.
“Thank you for inviting me. This was much more fun than ordering in and binging some random tv show.” Jennifer and Laura both walked me to the door.
“We do this every year, so standing invitation,” Jennifer said.
“See you at work. Goodnight.”
It had been a while since I last enjoyed myself so much.
As I walked home, my mind wandered back to the Cards Against Humanity game we played.
We all laughed hysterically at some answers that were read out loud, but it wasn't just about the funny answers; there was something else as well.
We were connecting on a deeper level than we usually did and it made me realize how much I needed this kind of interaction.
As I walked, I made a mental note to take more time for myself in the future.